RESEARCH
KNOWLEDGE OBSOLESCENCE & AV PRESERVATION
As a moving image archivist, I am concerned with the issue of knowledge obsolescence in relation to the technical skills required to carry on audiovisual preservation. Technical jobs that once supported audiovisual production are now essential for the preservation of obsolete analog media as cultural heritage. The fundamental skills associated with those technologies are now as much at risk as physical carriers. However, this knowledge is often left out of the call to arms that attempt to preserve at risk cultural heritage.
To better understand this issue, I created a timeline that traces the past and present efforts that have addressed the loss of legacy skills specific to analog video playback equipment. Included are conferences, symposia, events, grants, projects, reports, and task forces spanning from 1977 to the present. For this project, the scope of my research does not extend beyond playback equipment specific to magnetic media. From the dataset used to make this timeline, I have designed an IRB approved survey that builds upon past reports to determine which skills are needed most and what platform should be used to share them.
SPECIAL THANKS to the following people who helped make this project possible: Diana Ascher, Snowden Becker, Mike Casey, Yasmin Dessem, Adam Foster, Siobhan Hagan, Genevieve Havemeyer-King, Kelly Haydon, Mona Jimenez, Sam Lane, Jeffrey Martin, Morgan Morel, Jared Nistler, Sarah Nguyen, Jen O’Leary, Peter Oleksik, Ellen Pearlstein, Maurice Schechter, Teague Schneiter, Linda Tadic, Ben Turkus, Andy Uhrich, Phil Vigeant, Rhonda Vigeant, Glenn Wharton, Casey Winkleman and the AMIA CEA Task Force.
This data is also available in a list format as a Google Doc.
If something is missing from this timeline you can submit an event and you will be credited on this page, as well as the Tiki-Toki site.
Presentations & Slides
Version 1.0: presented for my graduate portfolio defense in June 2019
This version has a longer intro that caters to an audience who may not understand what magnetic media is or why content on this format is important.
Version 2.0: presented at NTTW4 in December 2019
This version is for an audience with a knowledge base of media archiving and preservation and who are familiar with magnetic media. I also discuss my timeline and how it informed my IRB survey in more depth than the previous presentation.